ᐅ Would you consider buying from a bankrupt kitchen manufacturer?
Created on: 12 Jul 2017 14:23
S
Smurfberry
Hello everyone,
As announced today (but already long expected), the kitchen manufacturer Alno is insolvent and has filed for bankruptcy.
Our current plan was to buy an Alno kitchen through the kitchen studio, but nothing has been signed yet. Alno itself says they will continue producing as usual. From many industries, we know that insolvency does not necessarily mean the end of a company – but I don’t know if that applies here as well.
So my question is: do you have experience with this situation, and would you still consider buying from a manufacturer in insolvency, or is it too risky since this has happened before and eventually no spare parts or service were available?
In my opinion, it shouldn’t be a problem in most cases, since it is not the kitchen studio that is insolvent, just the manufacturer. Spare parts might be more difficult to get, but service should still be available. Moreover, appliances are probably more prone to faults than kitchen cabinets and countertops.
What do you think? Thanks for your opinions!
Best regards,
Tom
As announced today (but already long expected), the kitchen manufacturer Alno is insolvent and has filed for bankruptcy.
Our current plan was to buy an Alno kitchen through the kitchen studio, but nothing has been signed yet. Alno itself says they will continue producing as usual. From many industries, we know that insolvency does not necessarily mean the end of a company – but I don’t know if that applies here as well.
So my question is: do you have experience with this situation, and would you still consider buying from a manufacturer in insolvency, or is it too risky since this has happened before and eventually no spare parts or service were available?
In my opinion, it shouldn’t be a problem in most cases, since it is not the kitchen studio that is insolvent, just the manufacturer. Spare parts might be more difficult to get, but service should still be available. Moreover, appliances are probably more prone to faults than kitchen cabinets and countertops.
What do you think? Thanks for your opinions!
Best regards,
Tom
Well, I have waited 1 year for a kitchen front, and even with legal support, the manufacturer "Nolte" kept postponing. The deadlines we set were not met by the manufacturer, who justified this by citing holiday periods and the fact that a different series is currently being produced, making machine modifications impossible.
In the meantime, they simply delivered defective parts, presumably to create new deadlines.
Compensation was rejected by the seller "xxxl Kette" because the kitchen is fully usable and the issues are only cosmetic.
In the meantime, they simply delivered defective parts, presumably to create new deadlines.
Compensation was rejected by the seller "xxxl Kette" because the kitchen is fully usable and the issues are only cosmetic.
S
Smurfberry15 Jul 2017 11:22That is obviously disappointing.
But as I said, we haven’t signed anything yet, we still have time until early 2018, so we can wait and see. Hopefully, everything will sort itself out again. So far, the kitchen is exactly how we wanted it. I would like to avoid going through all of this again with a new manufacturer and having to find alternative solutions.
But as I said, we haven’t signed anything yet, we still have time until early 2018, so we can wait and see. Hopefully, everything will sort itself out again. So far, the kitchen is exactly how we wanted it. I would like to avoid going through all of this again with a new manufacturer and having to find alternative solutions.
I wouldn’t take the risk. If you plan for it and find out four weeks before installation that nothing is available anymore, you’ll have a problem and might have to switch completely to Ikea or something similar. For example, our Schüller kitchen has a delivery time of 14 weeks.
Tomtom’s example clearly shows that there is a difference between being right and actually getting what you are owed. As mentioned earlier in the discussion about the deposit, the disappearance of the deposit may be the kitchen studio’s problem, but in reality, you rarely get a call saying, “The manufacturer is insolvent, and the €5000 (about $5400) deposit is tied up in bankruptcy and likely lost forever. However, that’s our problem; we have already processed the payment to you.” Then you can spend years chasing this through lawyers and legal processes (costs + time) and end up moving in without a kitchen.
Now that you know exactly what you want, take the plan with you and visit the next studio. With one or two days of effort, this can be settled.
Now that you know exactly what you want, take the plan with you and visit the next studio. With one or two days of effort, this can be settled.
S
Smurfberry16 Jul 2017 00:52Simply put, some cabinet options are not available there. Only a few, for example, offer a pantry cabinet like Alno. KH Küchen, I believe, has something like that. I am not aware of others off the top of my head.
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